Sorption and Transport of Naproxen and Cetirizine in Natural Soils

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Johnson, Katherine M
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Abstract
Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) can be found globally in trace quantities. There is a growing concern over what effect these PPCPs will have on natural environments as a result of long term accumulation. At present, the end fate of these chemicals is unknown. The main objective of this project was to determine the sorption and transport behavior of two PPCPs, naproxen and cetirizine in natural soils. Chromatography experiments were used to compare sorption behavior in clean soils with differing amounts of organic matter (OM) and clay mineral content. By calculating retardation factors and distribution coefficients, the results show that naproxen binds more strongly to OM in soils than to clay minerals and desorbs relatively easily. Cetirizine shows stronger reaction than naproxen with both types of soils but sorbs the strongest to clay mineral-rich soils. Implications from this study for future use include risk assessments and predictions of the behavior of PPCPs for mitigation purposes. There are positive potentials for this research including improved geopurification methods to treat contaminated water.
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PPCP, glass column chromatography
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